The present invention relates to a front body structure of a vehicle which in an offset collision, is capable of reliably absorbing an impact or shock of the collision, thereby limiting deformation of a passenger compartment.
A vehicle front body structure of a vehicle designed to mitigate an impact or shock of a collision is known, for instance, from Japanese Patent No. 2516212 entitled xe2x80x9cFRONT BODY STRUCTURE OF MOTOR VEHICLExe2x80x9d.
In the known vehicle front body structure, a front side frame is arranged to extend in a fore and aft direction of a vehicle body. An apron frame is formed in a curved shape along an upper edge portion and a front edge portion of a wheel house provided at the front side frame, while a front portion of the apron frame is arranged to extend in a forward area of the vehicle body. The front portions of the front side frame and the apron frame are interconnected through a reinforcement member.
For example, while in the event that a side frame or a bumper beam of another vehicle collides with the apron frame at a position displaced from the front side frame, the apron frame absorbs a collision impact through deformation of the apron frame, in a case where due to the presence of a side frame and a bumper beam of an oncoming vehicle involved in the collision being located at high position to cause the side frame and the bumper beam to be placed offset in an upper part of the apron frame, the oncoming vehicle rides on the upper part of the apron frame, rendering the apron frame incapable of adequately absorbing the impact.
Consequently, it is desired to absorb the impact of the collision for thereby providing limited deformation of the passenger compartment even when the own vehicle encounters an offset collision with the oncoming vehicle in a manner in which the side frame (side member) of the counter vehicle is displaced from the side member of the own vehicle.
According to the present invention, there is provided a front body structure of a vehicle having a pair of right and left front wheels and a pair of right and left front pillars, which front body structure comprises: a pair of left and right side members disposed inside the front wheels and extending forwardly from a passenger compartment; a framework member having an extension extending forwardly over and beyond one of the front wheels and a suspended portion extending substantially downright from a forward end of the extension and suspended in front of the one front wheel; and an upper member extending forwardly from that one of the front pillars which is closer to the one wheel, the framework member being mounted to a front end of the upper member.
When, in a collision of two vehicles, the distal end of the side member and the bumper beam of the counter vehicle collides with the own vehicle at a position outside the side member of the own vehicle in the widthwise direction thereof, the framework member is capable of alleviating the impact of the collision for protecting the front pillar from being imparted with an excessive magnitude of impact, thereby providing limited deformation of the passenger compartment. Further, the presence of the framework member having the suspended portion enables the side member and the bumper beam to be more precisely brought into striking abutment with the framework member even in the presence of differences in height with respect to the side member and the bumper beam of the oncoming vehicle involved in the collision, providing capability to more reliably suppress deformation of the passenger compartment.
Preferably, a lower end of the suspended portion is connected to a respective one of the side members via a lower end connecting member. This allows the lower end connecting member to increase rigidity of the framework member, particularly, the rigidity resisting loads that would be imparted in the widthwise direction of the vehicle, while unitarily forming the framework member and the side member enables the framework member to more easily absorb the impact of the collision.
It is also preferred that the framework member and a respective one of the side members are interconnected via an inclined connecting member that is inclined such that one side mounted to the framework member is positioned a distance ahead of the other side mounted to the side member. The inclined connecting member is effective for imparting increased rigidity to the framework member in the fore and aft direction of the vehicle body, enabling the framework member and the side member to more easily absorb the collision impact.